Johnny Manziel had a difficult offseason, but he rebounded and matured to earn a second consecutive trip to New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony. / Peter G. Aiken, USA TODAY Sports

by Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

by Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

When it comes to the 2014 NFL draft, underclassmen will have an impact on the first round more than ever before.

As of Tuesday, a record 88 underclassmen opted to leave at least one season of NCAA eligibility on the table to chase a spot in the draft, which this year is May 8-10. That total shatters last year's mark of 73, after 65 declared in 2012 and 56 in 2011. Of the 73 underclassmen who entered last year's draft, 21 went unselected.

Largely as a result of the record number of underclassmen, non-seniors should dominate the draft's first round - especially at the top.

"There's going to be a lot of good underclassmen who get drafted high, whether it's Teddy Bridgewater, Johnny Manziel, Jadeveon Clowney," said Russ Lande, a former NFL scout. "Usually, that's how it is. Because if you think about it, the guys that go high are the best players in the country. A lot of the elite juniors come out because they know they're going to go high."

The two leading contenders to be taken with the Houston Texans' No. 1 overall pick, Bridgewater and Clowney, entered the draft after their junior seasons. Two of the top three quarterback prospects - Bridgewater and Central Florida's Blake Bortles - would be seniors in 2014. Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel would have been a junior.

No position seems to illustrate the non-senior's hold on the draft more so than wide receiver, where the consensus top four prospects are underclassmen: Clemson's Sammy Watkins, Texas A&M's Mike Evans, USC's Marqise Lee and Florida State's Kelvin Benjamin.

"Usually there's a handful of juniors, like five or six elite junior receivers, but also five or six elite seniors, so they're sort of mixed together in who goes where in the first round," Lande said. "But this year there are really few senior receivers that are going to be in the discussion for first-round picks."

This year's influx of underclassmen continues a recent draft trend that shows no sign of stopping - and one that might be furthered owing to how non-seniors will dominate the draft's opening stages.

"I think it's a trend that will just continue to grow," Lande said. "As the NFL draft business grows, these kids get more and more information, get more and more hype. The guys that are elite, like Clowney or Bridgewater, who come into the year viewed as a definite top-10 pick, I think there's almost no way to keep them in school."

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Paul Myerberg, a national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports, is on Twitter @PaulMyerberg.